San Pedro Creek Culture Park.
A decade later, a project transforming a historic San Antonio waterway into San Pedro Creek Culture Park has been completed. The final phase of the linear 2.2-mile park opened for the public on Thursday, May 15, providing a trail of art and history from Santa Rosa to Apache Creek.
San Pedro Creek was once a free-flowing waterway fed by the Edwards Aquifer. Over time, the creek was stripped of its natural ecology due to floodwater, becoming a troublesome ditch for the community. Amy Zola, the project manager of San Pedro Creek Culture Park, told MySA that residents along the ditch suffered from floods during storm events.
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In 2012, the San Antonio River Authority (SARA) and Bexar County began the conversation of turning the San Pedro Creek drainage ditch into a public linear park that would also improve flood control in the area. Four phases and $644 million later, the waterway has been revitalized into a linear park with public art, landscaping and wildlife in the heart of downtown San Antonio.
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“First and foremost, it’s a flood control project, and always will be a flood control project to safeguard the health of our citizens,” SARA Board Member Jim Campbell said at a celebration news conference on Thursday. “It’s also an eco-restoration project. We care about improving the quality of the water and bringing back bird and fish species and other kinds of riparian species that we haven’t seen in this part of the creek in a long, long time. But it’s also a statement about beauty.”
An after shot of Dolorosa Street along San Pedro Creek Culture Park.
First phase opens
The San Pedro Creek Culture Park encompasses a total of four phases, including three segments in Phase 1 along Cameron Street to Cesar Chavez Boulevard (one of the largest phases in the project). In May 2018, segment one of Phase 1 was completed.
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In October 2022, the final two segments of Phase 1 were opened. The section included five new bridges, two new public art installations, a community gathering space that preserved the historic foundation of the St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church and a trail that connects visitors to Texas Public Radio and the Alameda Theater.
Along the section, there are more than 75 trees, nearly 3,500 shrubs and over 1,800 aquatic plants, according to SARA. It also features one of the first art installations, STREAM. The interactive piece by Brooklyn artist Adam Frank is set along a 250-foot water wall.
An after shot of Graham Street along San Pedro Creek Culture Park.
Phase 4.1 and 2
Phases 4.1 and 2 (El Paso St. – Alamo St.) opened in Fall 2023, according to SARA. Though just under half a mile, the short section of the creek is packed with artwork. Artists whose work is featured in the section include Elizabeth Carrington, Rikkianne Van Kirk, Eddie Vega and Leticia Huerta.
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Van Kirk’s installation, titled A Place of Origins, highlights avian wildlife and functions as a shade canopy at Mustard Seed Plaza in Phase 2. Carrington’s Spirit of San Pedro Creek features elegant metal screens laser cut with papel picado-inspired patterns, connecting past and present through traditional design.
Huerta brings bursts of color and nature to the park with San Antonio Flowers, a series of beautifully crafted tile designs that adorn concrete benches and celebrate native Texas wildflowers. Vega weaves words into the landscape, with three poems narrating the life and resurgence of the creek.
An after shot of San Pedro Creek Culture Park near Marti’s.
Final phase
Phase 3 (the final phase) opened to the public on Thursday, May 16, completing the section from South Alamo Street to the confluence with Apache Creek. It brings more artwork and historical signage to the community.
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Along the section, you’ll also find Mark Reigelman’s Falling Water, which captures runoff from the highway in a giant, hand-shaped sculpture, filtering the water before it returns to San Pedro Creek. The section is also by Ruby City, a contemporary art center founded by Linda Pace, housing over 1,400 works by local and international artists. It’s free and open to the public year-round.
Overall, the linear park has 53 interpretive signs, 86 benches, two boardwalk overlooks, community spaces, art installations, tile murals, historical text, 16 colorful tile designs, four restored bridges, two locations with text etched in limestone walls, 1,070 native aquatic plants, 267 shade trees, 351 ornamental trees, 1,400 shrubs, 1,903 vines and more.
The $644 million project is estimated to have a $1.3 billion annual economic impact, according to SARA.